5 Habits That Will
Help Increase Your Longevity
Provided
by American
Council on Exercise
Growing
older is a fact of life. We all want to live long and happy lives, but
unhealthy habits can put a kibosh on the quality of those years. Listen, I know
that you are busy. I’m busy too! But living healthy doesn't have to be a chore.
To equip your body for the marathon that is life, incorporate these five habits
into your normal routine.
1. Aspire to Eat Clean
If you
take a close look at a carrot, you’ll notice a lack of an ingredient list on
its back. Just pure carrot. When you eat food that
comes out of a box, a can or a take-out container, “pure” is instantly thrown
out of the window. Instead of fueling your body with preservatives, chemically
altered fats, extra sodium and artificial flavors courtesy of ingredients that
you can’t pronounce, eat foods that are closest to their natural state as
possible. Aim to get the majority of your daily calories from fresh fruits and
vegetables, minimally processed whole grains, low-fat dairy, nuts, seeds, lean
meats and fish. A body that is fueled operates better (and longer!) than a body
that is just fed.
2. Drink More Water
The advice
varies—while some suggest drinking the classic eight 8-ounce glasses of water a
day, others say to take your body weight, divide it in half and drink that many
ounces. What we do agree on is that drinking water—lots of water—is a must-have
healthy habit. Because water is our body’s principal chemical component and
makes up about 60 perfect of our body weight according to the Mayo
Clinic, water should
be our drink of choice over sugary, calorie-laden drinks. Yes, Coca-Cola can
provide a temporary caffeine boost, but it falls short in all other benefits.
The Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention reports
that water helps your body maintain a normal temperature, lubricates and
cushions joints, protects the spinal cord and other sensitive tissues, and gets
rid of waste. Make a water bottle your fifth limb and continually refill it to
hydrate your body the entire day.
3. Move More and Move Often
A
30-minute daily trip to the gym is good, but adding constant movement
throughout your day is even better. Instead of finishing a workout and calling
it quits for the day, activity should be a 24/7 priority. By now, most of us
have heard that sitting is the new smoking and long bouts of
inactivity really is the kiss of death. The Sax
Institute’s “45 and Up Study” found
that adults who sat for 11 hours or more a day had a 40 percent greater risk of
dying in the next three years compared with those who sat for fewer than four
hours a day. Stand up every half hour at work, lap your house while talking on
the phone, add a short nighttime walk—it doesn’t matter how you do it, just
move more. I tell my clients everyday
that a workout of some sort is a personal triumph over laziness and
procrastination!
4. Think Positive
Thoughts
are powerful, so be sure to pay attention to yours. Do you encourage yourself
with positivity or hold yourself back with negativity? The Mayo
Clinic reports a
number of health benefits associated with positive thinking, including
increased life span, lower rates of depression, greater resistance to the
common cold and reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease, among many
other things. Hang your favorite uplifting quotes on your fridge or bathroom
mirror. Come up with a positive mantra that you repeat to yourself when you
feel negativity swirling in your head. Make it a goal each day to be more
positive than the day before. A happier life is a longer one. One of my
favorite quotes is by Ralph Waldo Emerson: “For every minute you are angry, you
lose sixty seconds of happiness.”
5. Don’t Forget to Strength
Train
Too often
people get psyched that they are exercising most days of the week—with some
type of cardio—and they forget about strength training. Not building and
maintaining muscle could be one of the biggest mistakes related to your health. Studies have shown that after the age of 40,
people lose about 8 percent or more of their muscle mass each decade. Not only
do muscles keep our bodies functional, mobile and strong, but they also help
burn calories even when you’re not working out. Seriously, muscle is
the key to metabolism in our golden years.
“Strength training” does not mean you need to become a body builder and lift
heavy barbells. Free weights, resistance bands, muscle sculpt classes or even
using your own body weight with push-ups, planks and squats all work.
AUTHOR
Chris Freytag
Chris
Freytag is an accomplished blogger, author, speaker, and the ACE senior
consultant for health and fitness. A long-time ACE Certified Professional, she
has been training and teaching fitness classes for over 20 years. Chris is
the founder of GetHealthyU.com, a fast-growing digital publishing
company within the healthy living space and is a contributing editor for
Prevention Magazine.